Reasons as to why the MBTA fare hikes are going to cause serious problems (talking points for the meeting):
School attendance will drop noticeably. Many Malden High students take the bus to and from school. If they are forced to walk, they may be even more unmotivated to show up, and the school attendance will go down the drain, as well as an increase in students being tardy. Additionally, many students have after school activities to attend that end late into the evening/night. They may need to walk home at night in unsafe conditions. If the school attendance goes down, students' motivation will go down with it, and people who do show up will be tired from the long walk. Even people who don’t currently rely on the bus will be negatively affected.
People who absolutely have to take the bus will be forced to pay the increased prices. Some people don’t have the money for that, and what money they do have will be swallowed up by the buses. They will be unable to recover from their financial crisis. The cost of this will add up to a huge sum.
This won’t help the MBTA recover! All this will do is drive customers away, and then the MBTA’s crisis will continue and worsen. This needs to be taken care of for their sake as well as ours.
People will be unsafe walking around Malden, especially with all the crimes that have been committed in the past few months. The buses used to be a form of protection, but that may not be available anymore. This cannot be allowed to happen. We know a MHS student who was jumped recently and have heard of several others.
How are we going to get Mr. Brown involved?
Schedule a meeting to discuss the main problem: Students not being able to afford fare prices + poor MBTA employee-student relationships + results of these problems (listed above).
Propose a solution: Have a group of students volunteer to help out at Malden Station by picking up trash, helping riders with fare vending machines, etc.
Explain how our idea can help solve our problem. Ex: Clean station = Less money used for maintenance, which may lead to lower fare prices. Our work may also inspire other high schools in MA to help the MBTA.
Maybe get his permission to hand out flyers about our idea to see who is interested in getting involved.
How We Can Help:
- Find and provide alternatives, like biking and carpooling, for students who are in need of transportation to get to school and cannot afford the raised bus prices. - Get other students and people involved in helping to lower the fares or provide alternate ways to get to school. - Find effective ways to earn money to make our solutions possible and affordable. - Connect through phone calls, e-mails, and meetings with people in Malden/the greater Boston area's government group (Mayor Christenson, Mayor Menino, etc.). - Spread the word and send notices to students who cannot afford the raise in fares by advertising it around the school or just talking about it to other students. - Recruit volunteers to pick up trash on the buses and subways a few times a month to reduce the cost of cleaning. - Recruit volunteers to help with Charlie Card issues at the train station.
Another idea we can bring to Mr. Brown:
Suggest putting up links of both survey's (community and student) on the MHS homepage. It's a great way to get it out to the public and also saves paper. :)
How are we going to get Mr. Brown involved?
How We Can Help:
- Find and provide alternatives, like biking and carpooling, for students who are in need of transportation to get to school and cannot afford the raised bus prices.
- Get other students and people involved in helping to lower the fares or provide alternate ways to get to school.
- Find effective ways to earn money to make our solutions possible and affordable.
- Connect through phone calls, e-mails, and meetings with people in Malden/the greater Boston area's government group (Mayor Christenson, Mayor Menino, etc.).
- Spread the word and send notices to students who cannot afford the raise in fares by advertising it around the school or just talking about it to other students.
- Recruit volunteers to pick up trash on the buses and subways a few times a month to reduce the cost of cleaning.
- Recruit volunteers to help with Charlie Card issues at the train station.
Another idea we can bring to Mr. Brown:
Suggest putting up links of both survey's (community and student) on the MHS homepage. It's a great way to get it out to the public and also saves paper. :)